(what is) Film
(what is) Film (originally Blacklisters) is an American animated TV series created by Elliot Strange and Owen Emerson. Production The show was based on an independent alternative comic-strip Strange produced for a college newspaper between 1983 up until 1997 called Blacklisters. Along with the strips, he later produced three full comics and later a paperback compilation that compiled the three comics and the strips. Frank Novice and Lily Laney adapted the strip into a pilot for a live-action series that would be pitched to NBC after the end of Novice's previous program The Late Night Sessions. Strange threatened to take them to court because they never notified him of the creation of the pilot and that if it was picked up he wouldn't be able to keep the rights to the source work. This sparked a feud between Laney, Novice and Strange which culminated with him creating his own pilot with his friend Owen Emerson in 1997 and pitching it to FOX that year. The pilot kept the name of the original comic series, but Strange decided to re-title it in case he ever wanted to revive the original strip and so he wouldn't lose the rights to it. The show's ultimate title was made up randomly, according to Strange. (what is) Film was produced by The Corning/Emerson Group, a pseudonym used by Elliot Strange and Owen Emerson to avoid detection by Lilly Laney and Frank Novice following their hostile takeover attempts on the former two properties (Strange was still feuding with both producers), although the episodes that aired on FOX featured Strange and Emerson's regular companies at the end. Bernie Brillstein and Brad Grey helped produce the show as well through their label Brillstein-Grey Entertainment (later Brad Grey Television). The show featured a combination of traditional animation for character movement and static environments and 3D animation for action scenes and establishing shots done with Lightwave 3D. Adelaide Productions produced the animation for the series. Strange originally contracted Adelaide Productions to produce the animation but they couldn't be reached in time. The show debuted in the fall of 1997 on FOX and lasted until 1998 due to low ratings. It was retooled and released in 1999, but fell short again in early 2000. The show was saved by fan interest and was given a second run on FX until 2003, with a hiatus occurring in early-mid 2001 due to the production facilities re-locating. The hiatus ended in 2002 and the show continued until ending for good in 2003. Strange attributes the network transfer to FOX wanting Strange to finish his show so he could fulfill his contractual obligations faster and so he wouldn't take action against them. The show was later reran on Comedy Central and TBS until 2005 for the former and early 2006 for the latter. Internationally, the show aired in Canada on Teletoon, Channel Nine in Australia and Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. It was rumored that the show had a very brief tenure on Bravo in the UK sometime between the "Season 0" and FOX season era. Premise The series centers around Wes Shapiro, a sheltered man who travels to Hollywood after his controlling parents pass away. Having never seen anything resembling a movie or a TV show (let alone a TV set), he decides to learn more about it, only to get accidentally embroiled in a movie deal with the blacklisted director Allan Smith who wants Wes to make movies. Wes agrees to do it to get a better understanding of film, and in doing so, he learns of the dark side of Hollywood. Along with Allan, Wes is aided by his childish old best friend Joel, his cautious therapist Monte, his short-fused intern Wyatt, his unwanted #1 fangirl Chelle and her father, the psychotic Giles. Wes also has to deal with his evil twin brother Les who wants nothing more than to maintain his status as Hollywood's most beloved director. Each episode centers on Wes creating a movie, taking inspiration from his daily life. Proceeding the original episodes was an introductory miniseries that centered on the characters that would receive the most focus in the series. These episodes aired between 1997 and 1998 on FOX during the time Strange and Emerson intended the show to be a monologue-based series. However, FOX didn't see the potential in the format so they re-tooled it into a semi-linear black comedy and re-released the show in 1999. The original episodes have been dubbed "season 0", and few of the episodes have surfaced. After the show was moved to FX, a fake movie trailer whose subject matter correlates with the following episode is shown before the opening sequence. The FX-era episodes tend to start off humorous, but toward the end turn dark, while maintaining some humor. The second to last episode comprised of Wes' intended film. He decided to make an entirely different film to what he promised after moving on from his childhood. The final episode was made to lower demand for a continuation. Characters Main * Wes T. Shapiro (Jason Alexander): A man who has spent a majority of his life at home, and hence feels out of sync with the rest of the world. His parents forbade him from watching television and forced him to study. Being completely naive to the world of cinema, he's often the subject of ridicule by movie buffs and due to a lack of contact with other individuals, he's somewhat shy and insecure. In spite of his shortcomings, Wes is able to make it in the world of film and has garnered some acclaim. Wes' name is a mix of the names of Howard West and George Shapiro, executive producers for Seinfeld. * Allan Smith (John Vernon): A disgruntled movie producer who hires Wes out of desperation. Allan was once well respected, but due to him getting tied to various flops, he was blackballed and is forced to work under an assumed name. While strict and at times unreasonable, Allan does have good intentions and he tries to help Wes in varying ways. Allan's name is a pun on Alan Smithee, a pseudonym created by directors who wish to disown films they're tied to. His appearance mirrors that of Christopher Collins. Supporting * Joel Denton (Howard Morris): Wes' estranged best friend. Joel used to sneak into Wes' house and the two frequently read comic books together. Joel is somewhat childish and he frequently watches cartoons when he's not hanging with Wes or the others. He often tries to help Wes with his movie, but his advice proves to be unethical most of the time. It's believed that Joel suffers from Werner Syndrome. * Monte Yuzna (Andy Dick): Wes' therapist who first appears near the end of season one and becomes a main character by season 2. Wes frequently seeks help from Monte after he is forced to endure endless stress in regards to his projects. It was revealed in season 3 that Monte is a closeted homosexual and since then, he came out of his shell and married Wyatt due to him being the only accessible gay client signed to him. Monte is more collected than the other members of the gang and tends to shy away from potentially dangerous activities. * Wyatt Powell (Gregory Hines): Wes' intern. He formerly served in the Gulf War before going through an honorable discharge (which he blamed on racial bias) and has been unable to get back into the working world because of it. Wyatt suffers from a mild form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and he also has major anger issues. He is considered to be the most violent part of Wes' personal circle of friends, but in spite of this, he has proven to be the most resourceful of them all whenever he's in the proper mood. Wyatt and Monte married one another later into the series (which was filed by Monte's homosexuality reminding him of one of the more positive experiences he had while in the army) * Chelle Polk (Mo Collins): A 16 year old, socially inept girl who admires Wes. Her parents frequently forced her out of her home so she could make friends, which never worked. She admires Wes because his parents forced him to stay indoors and because of his unique perspective on film. Wes frequently turns her away, but it doesn't deter her devotion to him. It has been shown that her clinginess to Wes and the others may come from mental issues and trauma stemming from the deaths of her pets, and she may have inherited her father's sociopathic behavior at birth. Whenever she's alone, she's haunted by the pets who take the form of pawns from board games. * Giles Polk (Michael Richards): Chelle's father who's a TV collector and electronics salesman. He is eventually hired as a technical advisor in Wes' project after proving himself to Allan and the others. Giles is a nihilistic, egomaniacal sociopath who'd sooner mock a suffering individual and perhaps further their suffering. He and Chelle hardly get along, although Giles believes that he's doing the right thing when it comes to raising his daughter. He frequently puts his daughter through activities that she doesn't enjoy and he kept her out of the house in an attempt to get her to make friends. In spite of his screw ups, he seems to have some form of care towards his daughter's well-being, but he hardly tries to get input from her in order to become a better father in her eyes. Giles is currently a widow, and it has been implied by Chelle that he drove his wife away. * Les Shapiro (Jon Favreau): Wes' brother and the main antagonist of the series. The polar opposite to Wes, he is brimming with confidence, has attended film school and has even met Steven Spielberg (eventually revealed to be a drifter who has the same name as the director). Having lived a successful and also sheltered life, Les is an egomaniacal individual who looks down upon anyone who isn't involved in Hollywood and he bullies his fellow workers, even his personal assistants on a frequent basis. His neurotic behavior likely stems from a traumatic experience he had after directing ten movies straight for what turned out to be a money-sink. He tends to lie to potential workers about most of his past to ensure they work with him. He does whatever he could to sabotage Wes' flourishing presence in Hollywood, but winds up giving him more popularity as a result. Les supposedly suffered from a fatal stroke in the final episode. Other prominent characters * Lenard Lochmond (Glenn Shadix): An actor who is cast in Wes' film. He makes prominent appearances after season 2 since Wes had enough material to begin hiring actors. Lenard was once a successful indie actor, but the wrong management led to him getting blacklisted, and it traumatized him so badly that for two years, all he could say was a quote from his breakout film. He regained his confidence after punching Jon Schroder (his co-actor who ruined his career). He doesn't appear as often as any of the other characters and is hardly considered to be a main part of the gang. * Alison Becker (Cynthia Preston): Chelle's best friend. She debuted in (what is) The Boom as the antagonist, where she was the daughter of the owner of the clothing store Chelle was hired to work at. Before Alison could expose Chelle's plan, the two got trapped in the storage closet and after each opened up about their personal issues, they formed a bond and they kept everything that happened a secret. * Josie Kern (Antionette Spolar): Chelle's other friend. Very little is known about her or why she became friends with Chelle. She appeared frequently in the first two seasons, but her appearances began to lessen in the following seasons. (what is) Baseball marks her final speaking role, and she has since only made small cameos in select episodes. It has been claimed that Chelle was forced by her father to hang out with Josie, and that the two indifferently hung out with one another, but after Chelle and Alison's friendship became known, she and Josie parted ways. * John Schroder (Neil Flynn): A comedic actor who is considered to be the most hated actor in Hollywood and is the secondary antagonist of the series. This is due to his racial insensitivity, giant ego, making fun of dead celebrities and creating a series of ill-received movies. He first appears in (who is) The Actor, when Wes casts him in his movie with no prior knowledge of his infamy and had to go to great lengths to get him out of the project. He plays another major role in (what is) A Road Trip when he attempts to stop Wes and his friends from destroying the copies of a sequel to one of his movies. It has been implied that Schroder destroyed Allan Smith's career prior to the start of the series. He hasn't had any major roles since the two aforementioned episodes, though he did play a minor part in (what is) Baseball where it's hinted that Wyatt might've killed him after he made Chelle's team lose. Cancellation/Aftermath The show ended in 2003 due to Strange and Emerson running out of ideas for new episodes. Both knew that the show would end due to low ratings had it continued from then. Strange was beaten by Frank Novice in 2004 and had to retire until he fully recovered. Emerson produced TV movies for various networks (something that he had done since 1993) until 2006 when his last project proved to be a money sink. Availability The rights to the show were bought out by Lily Laney and Frank Novice in a lawsuit that took place in 2007. The opening and closing credits were replace to remove all references to Strange and Emerson, and the logos at the end of each episode were deleted. Season 0 was preserved but cuts out the opening and closing credits. The original FOX episodes are now lost (the first season and half of season 2.) The episodes aired on FOX and (allegedly) on Bravo in the UK.